Towards a new LHC interaction region design for a luminosity upgrade

After the LHC operates for several years at nominal parameters, it will be necessary to upgrade it for higher luminosity. Replacing the low-/spl beta/ insertions with a higher performance design based on advanced superconducting magnets is one of the most straightforward steps in this direction. Preliminary studies show that, with magnet technology that is expected to be developed by early in the next decade, a factor of 2 to 5 reduction in /spl beta/* could be achieved with new insertions, as part of an upgrade aimed at a factor of 10 luminosity increase. In this paper we survey several possible second generation LHC interaction regions designs, which address the expected limitations on LHC performance imposed by the baseline insertions.